NTSB official says it could be months before cause of airplane crash determined

National Transportation Safety Board Air Safety Investigator Dennis Diaz and New York State Police Major Wiliam Sprague hold a press conference at the Vischer Ferry Volunteer Fire Station Thursday afternoon regarding the single-engine Beechcraft plane crash that killed developer Walter Uccellini, president and CEO of the Troy based United Group of Companies, Wednesday morning. (Mike McMahon / The Record)

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board search through the wreckage of a single-engine Beechcraft which crashed in front of the home at 53 Van Vranken Road in Clifton Park Wednesday morning. Walter Uccellini, president and CEO of the Troy based United Group of Companies was killed in the accident. (Mike McMahon/ The Record)

CLIFTON PARK -- An official with the National Transportation Safety Board said determining a probable cause for Wednesday's small plane crash in Clifton Park could take a year.

NTSB air safety investigator Dennis Diaz held a press conference Thursday afternoon at the Vischer Ferry Volunteer Fire Station and explained how he and his staff will go about determining the cause of the crash that killed one and left another in critical condition.

A single-engine plane piloted by James Quinn crashed at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning in the front yard of 53 Van Vranken Road. The plane's passenger Walter Uccellini, 67, a developer based in Troy, died in the crash. Quinn, 68, survived but remains unconscious and in critical condition at Albany Medical Center.

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Diaz said the NTSB arrived at the crash site within 12 hours to begin collecting evidence, especially evidence that would be destroyed once the plane is moved. Nothing will be ruled out, he said, including who may have been at the controls of the plane when it went down.

The wreckage of the plane will be moved to a secure location in Connecticut. Once the team leaves the crash site they will review information gathered at the scene along with documented evidence.

That information includes the plane's history including previous pilots and their training history and certificates, the number of flying hours they logged, the plane's production history, the maintenance history of the engine, the propeller and the air frame, the environment surrounding the accident, including the weather, and both radar and voice transcripts from air traffic control in Albany.

"All this exists, it's documented," Diaz said. "I can't speak to any of that information right now. We're here to document the scene as quickly efficiently, factually, and respectfully as possible."

Diaz said the plane did not have, nor was it required to have, either a voice data recorder or a flight data recorder -- commonly referred to as a "black box." The team is looking into whether hand-held devices on the plane may have recorded some useful information.

In nine to 12 months all the information will be released as a report including summaries of transcripts and photographs.

A probable cause report, the "why" for the accident, will be released 60 to 90 days after the factual report.

"Through our process we try to thoroughly gather as much of the facts as we can to try to come to the best understanding we can," Diaz said. "We always try to reach some conclusion, it may not be as finite a conclusion as some may like, but we hope to explain the circumstances as bet we can."

Diaz said the NTSB has the authority to make recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration, aircraft manufacturers, and the flying industry.